BackupAssist's Newsletter for July 2015 View this email in your browser
     

The Backup Tribune

July 2015

Let's chat about Hyper-V
Looking back on best practices for virtual environments

Last month, we looked back at a previous article on best practices for backups in general. Following up on that, this month we're going to get a bit more specific.

Let's face it, IT environments are evolving. Virtualization is the way a lot of businesses are going, for a variety of different reasons, and that just isn't going to change any time in the foreseeable future.

That's why it's important to make sure your business is up to date on some best-practices for protecting your Hyper-V environments.

Here are the top 10 you should keep in mind:

  1. Don't install other roles or applications on your Hyper-V host.
  2. Only assign a single role or application to each guest.
  3. Focus on creating guest-only backups.
  4. Make sure "Hyper-V Integration Services" are enabled.
  5. Run the backup on the host server, not the guest.
  6. Do not back up a CSV device directly.
  7. Don't put the Hyper-V host on the same domain as the guests.
  8. Backup the whole volume.
  9. Keep system and guest data on separate volumes.
  10. Use fixed virtual disks.
Pretty brief overview, right? Well, don't worry, you can get all the details you need on the above 10 points by checking out this blog article we posted on the subject last year.

Riddle me that, Batman!

Did you get the riddle last month? The correct answer was *drum-roll*...

The letter 'V'

Ken Lesser was the first to get in with the correct answer on Twitter last month. Congrats, Ken! The competition is really heating up.

Again, you say?

A secret society have a vault full of immeasurable riches. This vault can only be accessed via a secret password, which only one person knows and has been a closely guarded secret for generations.

One night, you meet the keeper of the password in a bar. As he's had too much to drink, you try to get the password out of him. But after hours of talking, all you know is that the password is 7 characters long and contains both letters and numbers.

Finally, just before the man falls asleep under the bar, he mutters something under his breath. You can't quite hear him, but you think he said, "You force heaven to be empty." By morning, you've robbed the vault of everything it contains.

What was the password?


As always, once you've cracked it then go ahead and tweet the answer @BackupAssist with #RecoveredARiddle.

Top Picks From The Blog This Month

Know how to spot Spear Phishing attacks

According to Spiceworks users, Spear Phishing attacks have been on the rise against a lot of businesses lately.  These attacks can be highly insidious, particularly for untrained employees.

That's why this month on the blog, we took a look at how you can teach your coworkers to spot Spear Phishing, and what can be done to prevent it.

Read it here.

The role of backups in Server 2003 migration

The End of Life for Windows Server 2003 came and went last week. And there are a lot of very good reasons for migrating to a newer, supported Operating System.

If you haven't made the move already, we wanted to make things a bit less stressful for you.  So late last month on the blog we took a look at the role backups will play in the migration process.

Migration may seem a daunting task, but backups will make your life easier.

Check it out.
 

A brief history of storing backups [infographic]

Last up, something lighter.  Backup technology and the devices used to store data are constantly improving - from punch cards to Solid State Drives, we've come a long way.  

This month on the blog, we put together an infographic that looks over some of the biggest milestones in backup and storage history.

Take a look.

News From The Tech World

Another Windows 10 Build is Available

Just weeks out from the official launch, Microsoft has released another (and perhaps final?) build of Windows 10 for testers.

Microsoft also stated that they will "...continue to update Windows 10 code as we head toward launch and beyond. We are embracing a new way to deliver Windows."

More details here.

 

Hacking Team Hacked, and Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Revealed

A controversial Italian company, Hacking Team, was itself hacked this month. The company creates spyware and malicious applications for use by governments and law-enforcement.

As a result of information released publicly by the hackers, a number of zero-day vulnerabilities came to light that had previously been known only to Hacking Team.

Vulnerabilities were discovered in  Microsoft's Internet Explorer, as well as Adobe's Flash media player. Both companies have now patched the bugs to prevent them from being exploited.

Read more here.

 

Giant Robot Duel - Challenge Accepted!

MegaBots Inc, a US company that has built a giant fighting robot, made the dreams of every sci-fi fan come true this month when they challenged the only other company in the world making a similar robot to a "giant robot duel."

The rival company is Japanese firm Suidobashi Heavy Industries, and they accepted the challenge less than a week after it was issued.

Watch the US team's original challenge video here, as well as the response from Team Japan here.

Calling Spiceheads Everywhere!

Follow BackupAssist on Spiceworks

You want a social network minus the baby photos?

A magical place where IT Pros reign supreme and hot topics of discussion include hardware, software and best practices?

We've just described Spiceworks.

We're on there, so check out our page and follow us today!

Let's connect


       

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